Chardan Downgrades Ophthotech As Fovista Fails Phase III Trials For Wet AMD

On December 12, Ophthotech Corp OPHT announced that its Phase III trials, OPH1002 and OPH1003, revealed negative results in wet age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Chardan Capital’s Gbola Amusa downgraded the rating on the company from Buy to Neutral, while lowering the price target from $200 to $15.

Failed Trial

Amusa mentioned that the pivotal Phase III trials tested Ophthotech’s “anti-PDGF therapy Fovista in combination with anti-VEGF therapy Lucentis, versus Lucentis monotherapy.”

However, the trial failed to meet the primary endpoint, in that adding monthly Fovista to monthly Lucentis did not lead to any patient benefits as measured in terms of visual acuity in 12 months.

“We found no material evidence of Fovista efficacy communicated in the press release and therefore model zero probability of success for Fovista going forward,” the analyst stated.

In addition, no relevant safety concerns were mentioned either for Fovista.

For the secondary endpoint, 24.2 percent of patients on the Fovista combination therapy gained 20 or more ETDRS letters at 12 months, as compared to the baseline, versus 22.1 percent patients on Lucentis monotherapy.

At last check in Monday's pre-market session, shares of Ophthotech were down 81.51 percent.